2010 Solar Decathalon Europe Showcases Sustainable Design

Fablab Inhabitat Solar Europe Decathalon.JPGThe 2010 Solar Decathalon Europe has been up and running (hopefully on solar power) for a few days now, and the photos are stunning. The Decathalon, held in Madrid this year, is a competition between college and university teams to build a house entirely off the grid. Teams are ranked based on how their design uses or reuses wind, rain, solar, and waste energy.

The 2010 Solar Decathalon Europe has been up and running (hopefully on solar power) for a few days now, and the photos are stunning. The Decathalon, held in Madrid this year, is a competition between college and university teams to build a house entirely off the grid. Teams are ranked based on how their design uses or reuses wind, rain, solar, and waste energy. Many of the designs are fantastic--Inhabitat has been posting regular updates and photographs. The Fablab House (pictured above; photo from Inhabitat), from the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, is a standout.

Currently, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University is leading the charge, ahead of the University of Applied Sciences Rosenheim and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'architecture de Grenoble.

Looking to attend an event closer to home? The U.S. Department of Energy also sponsors a binennial Solar Decathalon. The next competition will take place in fall 2011 in Washington, D.C.
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